Dad and son found clinging to cooler after boat sinks in Boston Harbor, officials say
A father-son duo in Massachusetts had to say goodbye to their boat after it sunk in deep water — and then cling to a floating cooler until help could arrive, police say.
The two men were brought to safety after their boat sank in the Boston Harbor on Wednesday, Aug. 24, according to the Boston Police Department.
The Boston Police Department’s Harbor Unit was on the scene after responding to a report of a boat sinking off the coast of Graves Light in Boston Harbor, police say. The men were found floating on a blue cooler and told the authorities they were weak and having trouble keeping their heads afloat.
At first, responding officers Stephen Merrick and Garrett Boyle had no idea what they were looking at.
“As we looked closer, we saw something we thought was a lobster trap, about a few yards away,” Boyle told The Boston Globe. “As we approached, it looked a little bigger and it turned out to be a blue cooler floating nearby. As we got closer, we saw two heads sticking just above water level hanging onto the cooler.”
It was later revealed by the men that the engine of their boat, “Glory Days,” died after a lobster trap line got tangled and caused water to be taken in, according to the news release.
The pair — wearing life vests — were treading water for 10 to 20 minutes before authorities were able to offer help, according to the Boston Herald.
“It doesn’t take long to get hypothermic,” Merrick, driver of the rescue boat, told the Boston Herald.
Then men were brought on to the police vessel, one by one.
“It is dead weight — they’re very weak, so they don’t give you a lot of help when you’re trying to get them out of the water,” Boyle, of the Boston Police Department’s marine unit, told The Boston Globe.
A video of the harrowing rescue obtained by WCVB’s Emily Maher shows the men groaning and apparently struggling in the water. The video shows authorities telling the men “to take their time” as they bring them out of the water and on to the back of their police boat.
The father is pulled out of the water first, the video shows, and his son continues to tread water saying, “thank you, we’ve seen a few boats go by.”
Both men were treated by officers and had Boston EMS waiting to treat them at the port of Boston, according to the news release.
The officers said “there’s not much the victims could have done in this situation,” according to the Boston Herald, but urged the public to keep life jackets readily accessible — and “don’t panic.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Dad and son found clinging to cooler after boat sinks in Boston Harbor, officials say."